The Obliteration of Publisher Identity

Abstract The title of this paper is taken from a chapter in Roberto Calasso’s The Art of the Publisher , in which the Italian publisher and writer notes a historical shift in contemporary publishing away from publishing as ‘form’, supposedly a publishing innovation of the first decade of the 20th century. Since Calasso never elaborated on his notion of publishing as form, this paper attempts to sketch the most important facets of this notion, embed it in the context of publishing theory, and suggest that it bears considerable similarities to auteur theory in cinema. After identifying three layers of publishing form, the author analyses how recent developments in contemporary publishing might relate to Calasso’s concern about the blurring of distinctions between publishers.